What We Are Reading

Below is a list of books that we have read in recent weeks. The comments are not a review of the books, instead sort of an endorsement of ideas and investigations that can provide solid analysis and even inspiration in the struggle for change. All these books are available at The Bloom Collective, so check them out and stimulate your mind.

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander – This book not only adds to the analysis provided by the Sentencing Project over the past 20 years, it provides a framework for understanding how the US prison system is essentially a racial caste system. The New Jim Crow gives readers important analysis on why there are profound racial disparities within the so-called criminal justice system. Michelle Wallace’s book joins the important body of work on the Prison Industrial Complex and is an excellent companion to the work by Angela Davis.

The Crisis Caravan: What’s Wrong with Humanitarian Aid?, by Linda Polman – Not since Tom Barry & Deb Preusch’s book The Soft War has a writer done such a good job of exposing the multi-layered problems with what is generally called humanitarian aid. Journalist Linda Polman has seen first hand how humanitarian aid is used and misused in many parts of the world. Polman not only writes like an investigative journalist, she provides case studies to support her analysis. The chapter on the use of humanitarian aid in Afghanistan is particularly useful since it is an ongoing crisis.

Black Bloc, White Riot: Anti-globalization and the Genealogy of Dissent, by AK Thompson – Black Bloc, White Riot is a very interesting and challenging book that not only explores the racial dynamics at work in the anti-globalization movement it takes a series look at some of the important questions that people should be thinking about who engage in this kind of work. Thompson, who does workshops on direct action, explores questions surrounding what some call “global protest hoping,” gender & direct action, as well as the role of “local organizing” in making links to larger struggles against neoliberal economic policies and imperialist wars. An important book for people who do any kind of organizing work, particularly those involved in anti-globalization actions.

When Media Goes to War: Hegemonic Discourse, Public Opinion, and the Limits of Dissent, by Anthony DiMaggio – When Media Goes to War is an excellent sequel to DiMaggio’s first book Mass Media, Mass Propaganda. In this new volume the author takes a close look at the role that the major daily US commercial media played in the US occupation of Iraq, the War on Terror and other major US foreign policy issues. In addition, DiMaggio looks at how the US commercial media framed the public dissent against such policies, which sheds light on how they view the public and public opinion. When Media Goes to War is a very important contribution for anyone who wants to understand how the news media functions in this country.